The New Kid
by Night-the-Dragon
Summary: Neku is the new kid, only having his friend Night, a dragon, with him. They get transferred to a new school, where they meet the popular kid, Yoshiya Kiryu, or, as he likes to be called, Joshua. After some confusing events for both, plus Neku becoming a bully target, a friendship forms, but will it become something more? Neku/Joshua, rated M for swearing, mild lime at most.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yay, another story! And another Joshua/Neku one, at that! WHEEEEEE! *runs in circles from her sugar rush* Neku's a new kid in a high school, continuing his junior year during second semester with his closest friend, Night. Night's not a student, though; he's there because he's Neku's guardian dragon. Even though it's normally guardian angel, just please go with it for the sake of the story, please! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

The New Kid

Chapter 1

Neku Sakuraba and I made our way through the empty hallways, being escorted by one of the receptionists to our first class, art. As Neku walked, I perched on his shoulder, hearing a faint bit of music coming through the purple headphones he always wore. I recognized the song; Twister. I silently tapped his shoulder with one of my claws as the receptionist began to slow down near a classroom, causing Neku to turn his music down and pull his headphones down to hang around his neck.

"Here's your first class, Mr. Sakuraba," she said in a voice _way_ too cheerful for 8 in the morning. I wanted to cover my ears to block it out.

Neku merely nodded in thanks before she knocked, and then opened the door and led us inside. I remained silent on my friend's shoulder as he walked in. Fortunately, humans here believe dragons represent good luck, so I wouldn't be looked at as a freak here, and hence, I didn't hear any gasps of horror when we entered. There were only looks of awe, and a couple looks of surprise.

"Sorry to interrupt, Sanae," she apologized politely to the dark haired art teacher at the front of the room.

"It's no big deal," Sanae replied.

"Well, I just came to introduce our newest student here, Neku Sakuraba, and his dragon, Night," she said cheerfully, and I noticed a couple of students wince from her overly cheery voice. I snickered mentally at that, but I did have to agree with them; she was _definitely_ too cheery for the morning.

"Hey, boss, welcome to the school! Just call me Mr. H," Sanae greeted, seeming mildly happy about having a new student. Neku merely nodded in greeting before asking the usual question we would ask all the new teachers we had.

"Where do we sit?" he asked quietly.

"You can sit…next to Yoshiya, in the back," Mr. H answered, pointing to a silverette boy in the back row, almost in the corner at the window, but the empty seat next to him had the window view. Neku nodded, and we felt a few stares on us as we made our way to the window seat. _Probably because of me, as usual…_I thought to myself. Once settled in the seat, Neku pulled out his sketchpad that he had gotten just for this class and began to draw in it.

"Oh…and Neku?" Mr. H added, making us look up at him. "Yoshiya will be your escort to all your classes this week, seeing as he has the same classes as you." The ginger nodded with a small hum of acknowledgement. Once that was settled, the silverette sitting to our right began to try and chat with us as everyone began their work.

"So, you're the newbies, then? My name is Yoshiya, but call me Joshua," he said, and I rolled my pure silver eyes, not that anyone could tell. Neku sighed, but responded.

"Yeah," he mumbled. I knew this Joshua kid would either keep on pestering us until Neku snapped, or just give up. I hoped for the latter in this case.

"Where'd you come from?" Joshua inquired.

"…Do we really need to answer that? We just transferred schools, that's it…" Neku muttered.

"Which school?" the silverette pressed.

"Either way, it's still a bitch to be here, so what's the difference?" my friend grumbled. The next question I didn't expect and it pissed me off.

"…Does Night even talk?"

I growled, the sound rumbling deep and low in my chest, and snapped quietly, "Yes, I do, get that through your thick-ass head!" The silverette looked taken aback for a moment, but then he smirked. _Ooooohhhh, this isn't good…_My instincts told me. They were right.

"Oh, trying to protect your friend, who seems to be trying to hide his gay feelings for me?" he giggled, and I swear to god, both of our jaws dropped to the floor. I bristled angrily, but Neku, once he recovered, had a murderous glare aimed at Joshua. If looks could kill, Joshua would be a bloody heap in a ditch right now. I recognized that look, though. It was Neku's, "I'm gonna fuck you up, right here, right now, no matter the consequences" look.

"Neku, _don't_!" I hissed, trying to get him to regain his composure, and he calmed down quickly, but we ignored the annoying-as-shit silverette for the rest of the hour. When the bell rang, though, I could literally feel the urge Neku had to facepalm when we remembered; we had that jerk as our personal escort for the fucking _week_! He resisted any and all temptation to cause himself any self-harm, though, as the giggling pansy led us to second period, gym. Neku hates that class with a passion.

_Now_ I remember why Neku hates this class: people pick on him. Fortunately, though, since it was the first day back for the second semester, no one would see his scars while in the changing room, keeping him safe for the day. Basically, we were let out early, and when we were free to go, the giggling demon followed us as we wandered around to find a private place for our free period. We had about an hour and a half to kill until fourth period.

Suddenly, an idea came to me, and I whispered in Neku's ear to see if I could see his schedule, which he passed to me with a bit of confusion. I had mentally mapped out the school before we came here, which would now come in handy. Looking at Neku's schedule, I saw fourth period, math, was down the hall past several turns and empty rooms. Perfect.

Silently, I communicated my plan to Neku, who understood perfectly, and then we set it in motion. Without giving Joshua any sort of warning, we bolted away from him, down the hall, and banged a door to an empty room closed as we passed it, and then darted into another empty room close to our fourth period classroom, hiding in the supply closet inside the room.

Using my sensitive hearing, I tracked Joshua into the room we had banged the door to, and then I heard him searching around in there. Signaling to Neku, we dashed out of the room we were in and ran to our classroom, knowing Joshua wouldn't see us.

Upon reaching the classroom, I flicked the light switch off, and we hid in the dark of the room. Quietly, I jumped off from Neku's shoulder and shut the door without being noticed, and once we heard Joshua pass and leave out of earshot, we started laughing. As we laughed, Neku managed to speak somehow.

"Oh my god, Night!" he cackled. "That was one of your best ideas yet!"

"I know!" I chuckled as we began to sober up. "That giggling pansy didn't see that one coming!" Once we had sobered up completely, though, we decided to just stay in the room and turn the lights back on so Neku could draw. I clicked the light back on, and we sat in the back by the window, just like before.

Neku turned his music on, and I listened to the faint music of Calling through the headphones as he drew. It was an intricate drawing of a dragon, and it reminded me almost of my father. He had plated armor instead of scales, and instead of leathery skin covering his chest and belly, he had scales covering them for protection.

About an hour and fifteen minutes passed before Joshua finally found us, looking relieved beyond belief to find us. The relief soon vanished, though, to be replaced by a scowl. Rolling my eyes, I nudged Neku's shoulder while his pencil wasn't touching the paper, and he turned his music off, sighing as he pulled his headphones down to hang around his neck, and then looked up at Joshua.

"Where the hell have you two been?" he snapped. "I looked everywhere for you!"

Quirking a brow, Neku replied, "We've been in here the whole time."

"That's a lie! I looked in here already earlier, right after you guys ran off!" he accused.

"Did you try looking here twice, or even bother with the lights?" I asked cheekily, and he stared at me, surprised. I couldn't help it; I started laughing again. The silverette glared at me as I tried to recover, and when I did, I sat back on my haunches, curling my tail over my hands and feet.

"If you were more observant, Joshua, then maybe you would've been able to tell we were hiding in the darkness of the room," Neku chuckled softly. Joshua seemed to give up at that, and just settled for glaring at the wall as he sat next to us. I swear, it looked like he was trying to burn a hole in the damn thing.

Not even a minute after the argument ended, the other students started to flood into the room, chatting about meaningless shit until the bell rang. I noticed Neku's hands twitch for his headphones, and I touched my tail tip to his shoulder gently, calming him again. He gave me the slightest of nods, so I pulled my tail away and jumped down to the floor, lying down by his messenger bag.

Mr. Minamimoto droned on and on too enthusiastically about math for the next hour, and then the bell rang, cutting him off before we could be assigned homework. Neku hooked his bag and slung it onto his shoulder before allowing the silver-haired prick lead us to lunch.

At lunch, Neku and I quickly took a seat in the back corner of the cafeteria, pulling out our lunches from the messenger bag. Joshua trailed after us, and I'm telling you, every single student in that cafeteria watched him like a damn hawk.

The murmuring started as soon as Joshua sat down across from us, and I was feeling pissed off already. Grumbling under my breath, I pulled out my sandwich and bit into it, glaring at those who were daring to stare. When they realized they were caught, they quickly looked away, muttering rude things that I didn't care about.

Neku simply played his music as he ate, and I caught the faint sound of Long Dream flowing out of his headphones. Joshua, surprisingly enough, didn't say anything as the hour progressed; he merely ate his own lunch and glanced at Neku every few seconds.

The lunch hour soon ended, and when it did, we packed up and allowed Joshua to lead us to psychology. Our psychology teacher, Mr. Kitaniji, kinda creeped me out. This was because he wore sunglasses the whole time, resulting in the class calling him "Shades" as a nickname. He also kept casting this weird-ass look to Neku and me, giving me chills each time.

Next, we had literature, which was nice. Neku and I both enjoyed writing, seeing as we could go into our own little worlds while doing so. Mr. Kariya was our teacher for that class, and he seemed decent enough. Joshua still seemed to be sulking about the whole "ditching him" thing earlier, but we didn't care. We just ignored him as we wrote notes down for the class.

Sixth period was creative writing, which was even better than literature, seeing as we were guaranteed fun writing in that class, and maybe even some drawing, too. Ms. Konishi was pretty nice as well, assuring us that we would all pass unless we didn't do the work.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class and as everyone began to leave either for home or their seventh period class, Joshua still didn't say anything to us. Neku nudged me and I sighed, but began to scan him using my telepathy.

Reading his mind, I heard him think, _Nobody's ever ignored me like this before…I'm trying to ignore them, but it's __**them**__ giving me the cold shoulder, not the other way around…Usually new kids are quick to try and get into my good graces, but why not them? Is it me…? And why would they ditch me earlier like that, too? Am I really that bad?_

I closed the connection and nodded minutely to my friend, letting him know I got something, and then jumped on his shoulder and we left for home. Joshua didn't follow, and I had to admit to myself, this really was eating at him. Well, news flash, pal: Not everyone's as lovable as you think you are!

As we walked home, I shared with Neku what I had learned, but he didn't seem too surprised, which didn't bother me. He was pretty perceptive, but I guess the only reason he wanted me to scan Joshua was to get the exact thoughts running through the silverette's head.

When we got home, it was as empty as it had been for the past 3 years. "First day back in junior year started, and I already want it to be over," Neku sighed, sitting down on the old, creaky couch. I nodded silently, and curled up across from him on the opposite end.

That night, we just made some instant ramen, and went to bed right afterwards, exhausted from the day. As Neku curled up in his blankets and I curled up in my makeshift nest, burrowing under the blanket, I thought to myself, _This is gonna be just like before…_

A/N: Well, I hope you liked this! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! R&R, peeps!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, chapter 2 is here! Hopefully I remembered most everything I wrote before…I started writing this on my other flash drive, but then I somehow lost it…so, I hope this is good! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

The New Kid

Chapter 2

The buzzing of the alarm clock in my head at 6 the next morning made me want to break something. The fact that it was right above my head didn't help, seeing as I slept right next to the bedside table in my nest. Even after Neku turned off the alarm clock, the noise still reverberated in my skull.

Groaning, I sat up, feeling my back pop in two places, while I caught the sound of Neku's cricking in three.

"Stiff?" I chuckled, and he gave a small, tired nod. While he got changed out of his boxer shorts and old t-shirt into his normal daily attire, I went down to the kitchen to make us both some breakfast. I decided upon making fried eggs, seeing as we would need the protein for gym today.

See, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the school had these "extended learning period" days, where we had only even classes on Tuesday, odd on Wednesday. And the classes on those days were about an hour and a half long each, making the day drag. So, basically, we have an hour and a half of gym today, which bites. The only nice part was that we had some down time before gym, since there's only three classes on Tuesday.

Neku's footsteps down the stairs alerted me to his arrival, and I looked up at him from the kitchen counter by the stove as he entered the kitchen, fully dressed with the exception of his shoes.

"Did you get better sleep last night than you did before?" I asked. "After all, you were pretty tired last night."

"Kinda," he mumbled, grabbing four slices of bread from the loaf and putting them in the toaster.

"At least you slept better, though," I said, trying to be optimistic. He just shrugged as he sat at the table. "Hope you're in the mood for eggs this morning, Neku, 'cause you'll need the protein for today in gym."

"Sure," he muttered.

"Neku, you know I'll protect you to the best of my ability without getting us in trouble," I reminded him gently. "It won't be like before, I refuse to allow that."

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean someone won't get hurt…" he said softly, putting his face in his hands. I knew what he was thinking about, so I quickly flipped the finished eggs on two different plates and went over to him. I slung my tail over his shoulders in comfort, to which he responded with a small, weak smile.

"It'll be okay, I promise," I assured my friend, and then put his plate in front of him. "Now, eat your eggs while I get the toast." I grabbed the seedless strawberry jam from the fridge as I spoke, and then spread some on all four slices. Once finished, I put two on Neku's plate, and two on mine, and then we ate in peace and quiet.

After we finished breakfast, Neku went upstairs to get his messenger bag packed with his stuff and a set of gym clothes while I put the plates in the dishwasher and washed the frying pan. He came down the stairs as soon as I had put the pan away, holding a plastic bag with black, knee-length shorts and a pale blue t-shirt inside.

"Ready?" he asked, and I jumped onto his right shoulder as a reply. We left the house at 7, locking the door behind us as we went and starting our half hour trek to the high school.

Surprisingly, about 5 minutes from the school, we spotted Joshua waiting at a corner we passed on our way to and from home and school. When we noticed him, Neku and I exchanged confused looks, but walked past the silverette anyway, totally blowing him off. He quickly caught up with Neku's stride, though, and started to speak to us.

"Neku, Night, I want to apologize for getting so mad at you two yesterday," he told us, and I nearly scoffed at that, but didn't react; when people apologized to us, they never meant it. They either only wanted to lessen their own guilt, or get out of trouble. Neku, however, did react to Joshua's statement.

"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "The only two reasons people will ever apologize to us are to lessen their own guilt or get out of trouble. They never mean it."

"But I am sorry!" the silverette tried to protest, but Neku pulled his headphones over his ears, the faint sound of the song Hybrid flowing out from them. His body language clearly told Joshua, "dismissed", which he didn't seem to take too well, if the way he gazed at Neku from behind, seeming upset, was any indication.

When we finally arrived at the school, I helped guide Neku to the library, where we could hopefully get some peace and quiet. Ignoring Joshua's repeated questions asking us where we were going, we went to the library and sat down in a plush armchair while Joshua was forced to sit on a creaky wooden chair across from us.

Neku pulled out his sketchpad and resumed the work he had started yesterday on the intricate dragon picture, while Joshua fidgeted a bit in his seat for a few minutes. I glared at him when the creaking finally got on my nerves, and he stopped, pulling out his orange cell phone and beginning to text.

As I listened and occasionally glanced over, Joshua was either typing a very long message to someone, or a bunch of small ones. I mentally shrugged it off, and just watched Neku draw. Suddenly, the warning bell rang, and Neku quickly packed up, and we took off for gym, Joshua following close behind.

While we ran to the gym, I decided to scan Joshua's mind again, curious about his thoughts. I opened up the connection, and listened to his thoughts.

_I don't get it, I apologized, why didn't they forgive me? I thoughts that was how it worked…I really do want to be friends with both Neku and Night…Especially Neku…I wonder if he's gay?_

I quickly cut off the connection at his last thought, feeling my skin under my plated silver armor grow warm from embarrassment. Mercifully, nobody could tell, seeing as my armor couldn't be seen through.

When we reached the boys' locker room, Neku slipped into a bathroom stall to change, so as not to show his scars, and emerged from it not even 4 minutes later. He motioned for me to jump on his shoulder, so I did, gently gripping my hind claws into his right shoulder as he walked out looking somewhat confident for roll to be taken.

However, when Ms. Uzuki announced that we were to play flag football for most of the class, I felt Neku shudder underneath my claws. I gently squeezed his shoulder in comfort, hoping that he wouldn't get so badly hurt like last time. Last time we had played flag football, Neku had ended up with several bruises and some small cuts on his torso from the roughness of the guys on the opposite team.

For some odd reason, though, I noticed Joshua give us a strange look when the game was announced. I had a very bad feeling about that look, even though I couldn't interpret what the feeling behind it was. We were divided into teams, a mix of boys and girls on each, and as it turned out, Joshua was on the other team, smirking at his team's plan. _This is __**not**__ gonna turn out well…_my mind told me.

As things stood, Neku was fast at running, but not very strong. He could punch someone and give them a black eye, but that'd be it, and maybe a swift kick, too. His reflexes also came in handy at times, too. Otherwise I'd take care of anything else.

But as Neku ran around the gym, trying to avoid getting tackled by the other team, which seemed to be focusing on him, I began to get nervous. That team was making it look like they were still playing, while at the same time trying to get Neku. I growled under my breath and quickly opened a telepathic connection with my friend as he ran.

_Neku, you need to just grab the ball and run,_ I ordered. _They won't stop trying to get you unless you score and then you can all take a breather, so score a point, quick!_

_All right, I'm going!_ Neku snapped back mentally, and I closed the connection. I didn't blame him for getting upset; he was under a lot of pressure right now. I watched as he darted past the other team's players, ripping off a flag or two along the way, and quickly grabbed the foam ball they were trying to defend. He made a swift roundabout, and then dashed past the other team again, quickly making his way to his team's side, scoring. This whole game had been going on for about 30 freaking minutes, so I was relieved when Ms. Uzuki called for a break.

Neku walked over to me, and I swear, it was like slow motion as suddenly, one of the larger players from the other team tackled my best friend, smacking him onto the floor, and he cried out from pain as his head hit the floor.

"Neku!" I yelled, and ran over, snarling at the moron who had tackled Neku. I ripped him off from my friend, pissed as all hell, but it quickly melted into worry and panic when I saw my ginger friend on the floor. Kneeling beside him, I asked softly, "Neku, are you okay?"

"Y…yeah…" he grunted out, trying to sit up. In the background, I heard Ms. Uzuki giving the dumbass tackler detention, and I glanced over, the sight confirming my thoughts when I saw the detention slip. "Fuckin' idiot is heavy as shit…" Neku grumbled as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, he's got detention now 'cause of that, so you should be safe," I told him, chuckling from his previous words. He gave me a tired smile as Ms. Uzuki walked over, looking a bit panicked.

"You okay, Sakuraba?" she asked as she knelt next to him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, just a small headache for a while, is all," he assured her. She became relieved when she heard that.

"Well, I'll let you sit out for the rest of class, if you want to," she offered. I fixed Neku with a look, and he nodded to her.

"Sure, but can Night take my place?" he asked, aiming a smirk at me. I rolled my eyes at his question; he knew how good I was at sports. Ms. Uzuki seemed hesitant, but when I cracked my knuckles in anticipation, she nodded.

As I led Neku over to the bleachers so he could sit there and watch, I muttered to him, "You do realize I'm gonna beat them all, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I want you in there, to beat Joshua's team," he answered softly, and I chuckled.

"A reason that I can't and won't argue with," I agreed. Neku sat down on the bleachers, leaning against the rail next to him, and handed me his flag from where it was tied around his waist. I tied it around my waist and quickly joined my team, smirking to myself.

The whistle to start the game sounded, and I shot off like a bullet from a gun, racing through the opposite team's so-called "defense", and ripping off Joshua's flag as I passed. I snatched the foam ball in my jaws and turned sharply, racing back through Joshua's team again and ripping off some more flags, then making it to my team's side and holding up the ball with one hand. Everyone looked confused, at least until I whistled sharply, and gained everyone's attention.

"What the-?" I heard someone yelp.

"How did he do that?!" another person cried out.

"Simple explanation: I'm a dragon, and you don't mess with dragons," I cackled, and broke down laughing at everyone's dumbfounded expressions. Still laughing, I joined Neku at the bleachers, handing my flag to Ms. Uzuki while I passed her. He was smirking from my remark, and chuckled a bit when I jumped onto his shoulder.

"Nice job, Night," Neku praised me, and I puffed out my chest a bit.

After a couple more games where both teams scored a point, one per match, Joshua walked over to us. I quickly nudged Neku to snap him out of his daydreaming, and he looked up as the silverette approached.

"I had no idea that either of you were that fast," he said as he sat next to us. Shifting uncomfortably, Neku looked away from Joshua, not bothering to reply. I fixed the silverette with a cold look, to which he looked away from quickly. "Look, I'm sorry about whatever it is that I've done since I apologized this morning, but what _did_ I do?"

"You're an annoying prick, that's what," Neku replied without looking. Joshua seemed taken aback, but then hung his head a bit after a moment.

"I see…Well then, what do you want me to do about it?" he asked.

"Just leave us alone," Neku answered coldly. I didn't even look as Joshua walked away, the feeling of rejection coming off from him in waves. I could honestly care less, though, as Ms. Uzuki blew her whistle and announced that we were free to go.

Neku and I ran to the boys' locker room, where my friend quickly changed into his regular clothes. We took off for lunch without Joshua, where he didn't join us, instead choosing to sit with another group that I assumed were his friends.

The warning bell rang for fourth period, so Neku and I tossed our garbage in the trash, putting any leftovers from lunch in his messenger bag to save for tomorrow, and took off for math.

Mr. Minamimoto gave us the lecture for the day, and we copied down the notes easily, quickly coming to terms with his teaching style and the subject. This time, though, he gave us homework before we could escape, so that sucked.

We took off for creative writing once the bell rang, Joshua trailing behind us, and sat down at our usual spot by the window in the back. Neku didn't even bother with Joshua as we worked, so I didn't, either.

Finally, freedom came for us when the final bell rang, and Neku packed up his stuff before we left for home. On our way home, however, we ran into that big moron from gym who had tackled Neku, plus a few of his friends, both guys and girls.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I growled at him. "I thought you had detention with Uzuki."

"Don't mean I'm gonna, yo," he retorted, making the goons behind him laugh.

"So what the hell do you want with us?" Neku demanded.

"I want you two bitches to pay fo' makin' me get detention, and the girls want us to get you back fo' hurtin' Josh, yo," he answered. I cracked my knuckles a bit.

"And who, may I ask, are you, anyway?" I asked calmly.

"Name's Beat, yo," he replied. "Why?"

"So I know whose ass it is that I'm gonna kick," I said, remaining calm, even when the group burst into laughter. I merely rolled my eyes as Neku backed away while I jumped down from his shoulder. I immediately launched myself at one of his friends, performing a full-blown head butt on him, and knocking him out against a tree. They stopped laughing immediately, and I noticed a couple of the guys trying to circle around behind me.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," I said in a scolding manner, and then whipped my tail around, smashing it into their chests and slamming the pair into each other. Beat was one of the only guys left, but then I froze when I heard Neku's shout.

"Night!" he cried out in a panic. I knew he was probably having a small flashback, so I whirled around, slashing my claws into the pair that was currently beating Neku up. Snarling, I shot a small flash of silver fire at Beat, making him howl in pain and run off, nursing his left arm that now had a painful burn on it.

"You okay?" I asked softly as I helped him to his feet. He winced, and I took that as my answer, helping him home as he limped a bit on the way back. When we finally reached home, he started crying as I sat him on the couch. "You had a flashback, didn't you?" I asked as I tried to comfort him. He nodded through his tears and sobs, and I just held him tighter.

After twenty minutes, he calmed down, so I rushed off to the bathroom for the first aid kit, bringing it back down so I could tend to my best friend's wounds. As I was cleaning the wounds, he whispered, "I don't know how much more I can take, Night…"

"Neku…it's going to be different here, I know it is, I promise," I assured him, and he nodded after a few seconds.

That night, we went to bed without eating much, and as I fell asleep, I heard Neku whisper, "I can't do this anymore…"

A/N: Awesome, I finished chapter 2! I actually finished it yesterday, but couldn't post until today. Anyway, you're probably wondering what happened to Neku and Night for all of this to happen, but you'll find out in chapter 4, promise! R&R, peeps!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's Chapter 3! Okay, I might just put in a bit of explanation here about Neku's past regarding the whole bullying thing, but not the entire story. Anyhoo, enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

The New Kid

Chapter 3

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Argh, shut _up!_" Neku's voice snarled, and then I was startled awake even more when his fist smacked the alarm clock violently. _It's one of those days,_ I thought to myself. It always happens the day after he gets a flashback; he's unusually snippy and even more pissed off at the world than most days. I sighed as I stood and stretched, arching my back like a cat before leaving Neku to get dressed.

Whenever one of these days came around, I had to stick to him like glue and not leave his side unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he'd start cutting again. He hadn't done it in a few months, but I didn't want to risk it. I searched the house, making sure any and all sharp objects that could be used to cut him were hidden in the top cupboard that only I could get to by climbing the walls.

Neku came down after 5 minutes, looking unkempt and depressed, and it was understandably so. I handed him a bowl of cereal and ate my own in quiet, and then we left once he finished eating and getting his bag ready. I didn't bother with packing lunch, seeing as he wouldn't eat until dinner anyway.

We walked to school, Neku trying not to wince every couple minutes from his injuries from yesterday, and spotted Joshua at the corner that we saw him at yesterday. When he saw us, though, his gaze zeroed in on Neku, his eyes widening in shock and horror. He tried to compose himself before Neku noticed, though, even though he already knew I had seen his expression. Upon reaching him, Neku scowled.

"Why are you waiting for us, Joshua?" he growled, making the silverette look down.

"Even though you asked me to leave you alone, Neku, I still need to guide you around the school like I was told to," he murmured. "It's only until the end of the week, anyway."

"Fine. Just don't talk to me today," my friend snapped at him, and then picked up his pace to get some distance between him and Joshua. I decided now was as good a time as any to try and get Joshua to understand at least a bit about what Neku's deal was today. Opening up my telepathic connection, I linked it to Joshua's mind and thought towards him.

_Joshua,_ I thought. He jumped slightly, startled by my voice in his head, and stared at me. I glanced back at him knowingly, and he nodded slightly. _You need to know a bit why Neku is behaving pissier and whatnot today,_ I told him.

_Why's he so upset today, then?_ Joshua thought back. _And how come you trust me to know this?_

_Because I've read your thoughts, and you obviously like him,_ I replied. The silverette blushed slightly at that, but nodded for me to continue. _Anyway, Neku experienced something traumatizing with some old bullies that took things __**way**__ too far about 3 years ago, causing him to have flashbacks of the events that took place whenever something like it starts to happen. In this case, he and I got caught up with Beat from school and some of his goons, saying he wanted revenge for us getting him into detention and some girls saying they wanted revenge because Neku upset you yesterday. I tried fending them off, but a couple of the bullies got to Neku before I could stop them, and they caused him to have a flashback. Whenever he gets one, the next day is always hard on him, seeing as he gets depressed and irritable, and is always tempted to cut himself. That's why I have to stay close to him, to make sure he doesn't._

_Oh my god…_Joshua whispered mentally. _What happened to cause this whole thing?_

I hesitated to answer that one. Instead, I opted to tell him, _I'll have Neku tell you if you manage to get past his walls. He hasn't let anyone into his life since it happened 3 years ago, so it'll be tough. Just try, though, and don't piss him off completely, or he'll shut you out for good. As for how you can try to get close to him…I'm not sure, but just watch his behavior; he's good at giving subtle body language. That's all I can tell you for now, 'cause we're here._

Indeed we were, and so Joshua nodded in understanding, so I closed the connection. Neku hadn't noticed a thing at all, for which I was grateful. We walked into the building, and mercifully, the halls were relatively clear of other students, making this much less stressful on my friend. We walked a bit fast through the halls, making our way to art with Mr. Hanekoma, who was already in the room, waiting on his class.

"Hey, boss!" he greeted as we walked in. Neku merely nodded and gave a small hum in reply, while Joshua actually spoke.

"Hi, Mr. H," he said, waving a bit as he followed Neku and me to the back table by the window. As we sat down, I quickly opened a telepathic link to Joshua again.

_Don't mention any of what we talked about earlier to Neku,_ I warned him quickly, and he gave a tiny nod to me in acknowledgement. Neku put his headphones on over his ears, turning the song to Calling again, and let it play as he began to draw a new picture.

I watched him start to draw out the picture, and I realized it was one of a demon. It was a twisted drawing, very detailed and dark, but good at the same time. I couldn't bring myself to look away from it a he sketched it out. As he drew it some of the more minute details, I noticed it was starting to look kinda like Neku himself. When he finished, the bell rang for class to start, and he flipped the page to a blank one.

Mr. H gave the class free time to make whatever we wanted today, so Neku began to draw a new picture again. This time, though, it turned out to be an angel. It was very well detailed, with a few dark features here and there, but I was amazed at how much resemblance to Joshua there was in the angel.

Once the dark lines were in, Neku pulled out his colored pencil pouch and pencil sharpener to color in the drawing. He pulled out black, silver, dark blue, lavender and violet, pale grey, gold, and an ashen silvery yellow color, plus cream and peach for skin. He usually mixed those two to make the skin color, and I knew he planned to do the same with the lavender and violet, if the way he had paired them together was any indication.

He started off with the skin, coloring those places in with the peach and cream pencils, and then the pupils and shadows surrounding the angel with black. He followed those with dark blue for the jeans, pale grey for the shirt, the ashen silvery yellow pencil for the hair, gold for the halo, silver for some light shading in the wings, and finished it off with the violet and lavender on the irises. I knew by looking at it that it was Joshua as an angel.

Leaning my head next to Neku's ear and pulling away the headphones a bit, I breathed, "Do you like him, Neku?" He jumped slightly in his seat, startled by my actions and my question. He glared at me, pissed, but I could see the tiny pink tinge on his cheeks.

"Not like that, Night," he whispered almost silently back. I shrugged and sighed, but knew I had accomplished something. I had planted the seed of thought in his mind, and hopefully it would grow to ensure he could determine his feelings about Joshua. It was obvious he felt something for him, if the drawing had anything to say about it.

Suddenly, the bell rang, startling both of us, and we quickly got up, Neku packing his things as we left to the library to relax for a bit. We sat down in the same armchair as last time, and Neku began to color in the dragon picture, which he had apparently finished drawing at one point without my noticing. He had just pulled out silver, black, and yellow, using the black for the pupil, the yellow for the rest of the eye, and silver for the whole body.

It took the rest of our free period for him to finish the little details and complete the coloring part, but it looked really good when finished. Very detailed, and it resembled me if I were to look like my father perfectly.

We went to the cafeteria, Joshua going to get his lunch from the line while Neku and I sat in the back corner to just sit there for the next 45 minutes. When Joshua came back over, I felt Neku tense and he scowled behind the collar that hid his mouth from view.

"Why are you sitting with us?" my friend demanded.

"I saw you didn't bring anything to eat, so I got some food for you," the silverette answered coolly. Bad move, seeing as Neku flinched at his tone.

"Neku, at least eat something, please," I asked softly, and he cast me a look of disbelief. My gaze on him hardened as I added, "You'll pass out tonight if you don't."

"…Fine…" he grumbled, and Joshua handed him an apple. As Neku ate it, I cast Joshua a grateful look, to which he gave a simple, small nod to as he ate. As soon as the lunch period was up, though, Neku took off for psychology, throwing out the apple core as he ran.

I glided after him above the sea of students in the hallway, but then I spied Beat making his way through the crowd towards Neku, looking beyond pissed. Right before I could stop him, though, Joshua stormed over to Beat, his expression livid. I quickly tuned in to the argument as I joined Neku by the classroom door.

"Beat, what did you do to Neku yesterday?" Joshua demanded furiously.

"_I_ didn't do nothin', yo!" the blonde protested. "Alex and James got to him b'fore I could, and I got a damn burn from that lizard fo' it, yo!"

"And why did you and your friends go after Neku and Night yesterday, anyway?!" Joshua hissed.

"He got me in trouble, yo, 'cause he's a fuckin' pussy!" Beat snapped. "And he got you upset, yo!"

"I am perfectly capable of defending myself, you fool!" the silverette growled. "In case you didn't notice, Neku got pretty hurt! You're lucky Night was there, or you probably would have _killed_ him!"

"Whateva, yo, I was jus' lookin' fo' payback, is all…" Beat muttered angrily.

"Well, if I catch you anywhere near Neku again, I will personally slit your throat while you sleep!" Joshua snarled furiously. Beat backed down at that, and I heard his footsteps as they rushed down the hall. I refocused on the sounds around me once Joshua entered the room and sat next to us.

Joshua gave me a look that quite literally said, 'I know you heard all of that,' so I nodded once to him in thanks. I didn't want to give myself away to Neku, who was closing up again. He pulled his headphones over his ears, listening to his music until Mr. Kitaniji arrived, and he gave us the lecture for the day on depression, which _really_ didn't help Neku's current state of mind.

Finally, after about an hour and a half, the class ended, and Neku, Joshua, and I were free to go. Joshua walked us to the corner about 5 minutes away from school, and when we parted, I gave the silverette a grateful look, to which he nodded in acknowledgement. Neku and I walked the rest of the way home in undisturbed silence. When the door shut, Neku glared at me heavily.

"You told him, didn't you?!" he demanded of me. To say the least, I was shocked; I didn't think Neku had caught on.

"Not everything, Neku," I told him, remaining calm. Getting upset with him would only make things worse. "I only told him a general idea, letting him know why you were so pissed off and depressed today. I didn't tell him the whole story. He understood, though, it seemed to me, so why are you so mad about it? He's concerned for your well-being, which is obvious even to me."

"I don't need anyone's fucking _pity!_" he snarled, throwing his bag on the floor. "Why on earth would you tell, him, Night?! You know I don't want anyone to know about that other than anyone who already does!"

"Because he likes you, and as more than a friend would," I replied. Neku's rage waned for a moment, but then he slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a shallow dent. I hadn't seen him this upset in a long time.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me." When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"He seems to know how to defend himself, though, Neku," I added quietly after a moment. "Beat almost went after you today in the hall after lunch, but Joshua stopped him with a threat that if Beat tried to harm you again, then he would slit that dumbass's throat in his sleep. He stood up for you, and seems to know how to take care of himself."

"He doesn't know me, though…" my friend protested weakly, and I noticed his shoulders starting to shake from quiet sobs as he leaned against the wall he had punched. I gently took his hand and led him to sit on the couch. He began to break down then, and I knew he was confused as hell about this whole deal.

"Neku, that's the point, though," I pointed out to him. "He hardly knows you, and yet he's defended you and made you eat something today when you normally never would until dinner. And what's amazing was that you hardly put up a fight when he asked you to eat something. Also, the fact that you drew a picture of Joshua as an angel today really showed me that you feel something for him, don't you?" The last sentence I said softly, as though if I said it any louder, the atmosphere in the room would shatter.

"…How in the world could he possibly like me, though?" Neku muttered through his sobs. "I'm…nothing. I'm just another blip on the radar…"

"Neku, you know that's not true, so stop that," I growled. "You know I will _not_ stand for self-loathing. Besides, if that were true, which it isn't, then I wouldn't be here for you, you know that."

Neku was silent for a few seconds, and then I heard him whisper so quietly that I barely caught it, "How can anyone love me, though…?"

"Joshua can, and he does," I promised. "He doesn't show it easily, but I listened to his thoughts yesterday, and he likes you, a lot. He even wondered in his thoughts if you're gay." I chuckled softly at the last bit, and the sound increased when I saw Neku blush slightly.

"But I don't know if I am, Night," he mumbled. "I don't think I can love anyone…"

"Give him a chance, and try to believe in yourself," I advised. "I feel that if you just give him a chance, then you'll figure out if you return his feelings or not. The thing is that you have to open up."

"…All right…I'll try to open up a bit and give him a chance…" the ginger murmured, starting to fall asleep on the couch.

"Thank you," I said, and helped him lay down on the couch. Darting upstairs, I retrieved a couple of blankets from his bed and dashed back downstairs, throwing one over him and helping him get comfortable. He fell asleep soon after, sighing quietly. I curled up in the armchair with the other blanket, falling asleep soon after, even though it was only 6 in the evening.

A/N: Awesome, two chapters completed in one day! I hope that the slight explanation in the beginning with Joshua helped you to learn some of Neku's past. I'll have Night and Neku explain more next chapter or in chapter 5, depending on how fast Neku and Joshua move in their little relationship. R&R, peeps!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Awesome, chapter 4 is here! It would be amazing if I could update 3 chapter in one day, now wouldn't it? Anyway, I'll try to explain some more subtle bits about Neku's past here, but I can't make any guarantees. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

The New Kid

Chapter 4

I woke up on my own at 5:30 the next morning, and noticed Neku was still asleep on the couch. I sat up, stretching until my back clicked in a couple spots, and then quietly made my way over to the ginger.

"Neku, time to wake up," I whispered to him, gently shaking his shoulder a bit. He groaned tiredly, but slowly opened his blue eyes nonetheless. Sitting up, he gazed at me groggily, trying to focus.

"What time izzit?" he mumbled.

"About 5:30 in the morning," I told him. He groaned again and flopped back down onto the couch in response. "Neku, you gotta get up. Remember, you're supposed to give Joshua a chance today."

"All the more reason not to get up," he grumbled from under the blanket. I ripped the blanket off from Neku without warning him, causing him to yelp and curl in on himself to keep warm.

"Neku, you promised," I chided, and forced him to sit up again. Finally, he stood up from the couch and rolled his eyes, heading upstairs to go shower and get dressed for the day.

While he did that, I decided to make pancakes for us for breakfast, and proceeded to head into the kitchen to do so. Once I heard the water start, I pulled out the sharp items from yesterday that I had hidden, putting them back into their normal places that they belonged.

As I mixed the batter for the pancakes, I contemplated how today would turn out. Neku promised to give Joshua a chance by opening up, but I just hoped for both of their sakes that things went well. Neku hadn't really spoken to many people since the events that took place 3 years ago, but Joshua didn't seem to mind. In fact, the silverette seemed to be drawn to Neku.

I just hoped that when Joshua heard the whole story, he understood why Neku was so affected by it. After all, even though he hadn't been raped or anything along those lines, it still horrified him. I was just glad I was there to help, or else he could have been killed. I was also thankful that those bastards were in prison for what they did, serving a life sentence.

I was flipping a couple of pancakes onto a plate when I heard Neku's footsteps coming down the stairs. He walked into the kitchen, sitting at the table as I put his plate in front of him as well as a bottle of syrup. We didn't bother with butter on our pancakes. Before he started to eat, though, Neku gave me a puppy-dog pouting face.

"Night, do I _have_ to give Joshua a chance?" he whined, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Neku," I told him. "You need to give him a chance, and besides, you promised me you would, so don't try to worm your way out of it. Joshua really does like you like that, so at least try to give him a chance."

"…Fine…" Neku muttered after a moment, and began to eat his pancakes. I soon joined him at the table with my own pancakes and ate quickly, seeing as we only had 15 minutes until we had to leave.

Once finished with our breakfasts, Neku retrieved his messenger bag and threw on his shoes and we took off, the ginger barely remembering to lock the door on the way out. We began the walk to school, spotting Joshua waiting at his usual spot for us about 5 minutes from the school, and he was looking a bit nervous for some odd reason.

"Hey Joshua," Neku greeted as we approached. Joshua jumped, startled, when he heard Neku's greeting. Neku cocked his head slightly and quirked a brow. "Why are you so jumpy today, Josh?"

"It's…nothing," the silverette assured him, but when he looked at me while Neku walked ahead, he gave me a pleading look as if to say, 'Please don't tell him!' I nodded slowly, uncertain as to why he gave me that look, but then I decided to scan Joshua. What I heard made my skin burn under my armor from embarrassment.

_Oh my god, I still can't believe I had that filthy dream last night about Neku…And then I had to masturbate to get rid of it, and then I moaned Neku's name when I came…I'm so mortified, I could die right now! What's worse is that he doesn't see me as anything more than another annoying person that goes through life…_

I swiftly closed the connection, feeling mortified myself. I could not believe what I had just heard. _Seriously, Joshua?! You haven't even gotten close to Neku, and you're already having dirty dreams about him?!_ I thought to myself. Geez, I guess some humans really _do_ have a one-track mind…

We arrived at the school, Neku leading the way to art class, and Joshua was still nervous the whole time. Once settled, Mr. H started the class when the bell rang, and told everyone to partner up for the new assignment. Basically, the instructions were to create a picture of opposites. It could be cats and dogs, angels and demons, love and hate as physical entities, the list could go on and on. He also told everyone they could choose their partners.

As soon as he said that, though, I swear to god, all the girls in the class stared at Joshua. The silverette looked at Neku expectantly, though, ignoring the girls watching him like ravenous beasts. My friend sighed and, giving me a quick glance, nodded to Joshua, who smirked at that.

The girls looked pissed at that, so I knew it was only a matter of time until Neku was confronted over it. I decided to keep my guard up, just in case.

"So, Neku, what do you want to do?" Joshua asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I know I want to do something with dragons or angels," Neku murmured. "Can you think of an opposite for a dragon?"

"Actually, yes. A unicorn," the silverette said, smirking at Neku's dismayed expression. The ginger quickly recomposed himself, though.

"Well, _I'm_ certainly not the one drawing that," Neku grumbled.

"No need to, dear," Joshua replied smoothly, not even flinching at Neku's death-glare. "You draw the dragon, I'll draw the unicorn, simple as that."

"Fine. Just don't make it too girly," my friend told him.

"Then you don't make your dragon look too deadly," Joshua retorted, smirking again.

The two boys began their work, and as Neku drew his dragon, I noticed it resembled an angelic dragon, due to the feathered wings and feathers on the tip of the tail. When I turned my attention to Joshua's drawing, though, I could see he was trying to bring some resemblance to Neku into the unicorn. I noticed Neku's fringe on the head, the various spikes in the mane, and the serious feeling it gave off.

By the time the bell rang, both of them had finished the sketches and were starting to draw in the dark lines. Neku packed up his things, Joshua following, and we left for gym.

Gym was hilarious, to say the least. Beat got a huge chewing-out from Ms. Yashiro for missing out on detention the other day, and I know I wasn't the only one laughing. The whole class laughed quietly at him as we listened to him get yelled at for it. Once gym ended, though, Joshua had to split off from us for some reason.

"Sorry, guys, but I wanna finish my drawing for the art project before tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to the art room and finish it. I'll see you in math, okay?" he said.

"Sure, I guess," Neku replied easily, and we watched Joshua take off down the hallway. As we walked in the direction of the courtyard to sit and watch the sky since it was a nice day, we ran into some of the girls from art class.

"Hey!" one of them snapped. She had pink hair, and a brunette girl with glasses stood behind her, glaring at us while clutching a black stuffed cat. A couple more girls with dark hair stood next to the brunette.

"What?" Neku said, looking at them, confused.

"Why did Joshua choose you for his partner in art class?" the brunette demanded.

"Why should it matter to you?" Neku grumbled, starting to walk away.

"Eri, stop him!" one of the dark haired girls hissed, and then suddenly, we were slammed into the lockers by the pinkette.

"You can't just walk away from us," Eri growled at us. I didn't want to hurt girls, but this was different. They were about to harm Neku, and I needed to protect him. I growled in warning, starting to turn around, when another voice rang out.

"Knock it off, Eri!" Joshua's voice yelled. "Why are you, Shiki, Ai, and Mina all so pissed at him?! If you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at me!" Eri released Neku from the pin she had him in, and then looked at Joshua in shock.

"Joshua…what are you doing here? We thought you went to the art room!" Shiki whimpered.

"I was about to, but then I saw you four following them, and I decided to follow you in case you tried anything stupid," the silverette snapped, glaring heavily at them. "Now go away!" The girls quickly fled at his harsh tone, acting like dogs with their tails between their legs. Once they were gone, Neku and I turned to Joshua.

"…Thanks…" Neku mumbled to the silverette.

"You're welcome, dear," Joshua replied kindly. "Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Neku answered, brushing some of the dirt from a locker off his shirt.

"How about you come with me to the art room?" Joshua offered. "That way, no one will bug us there."

"Uh…sure," Neku agreed quietly, and I noticed a pink tinge come to his cheeks. Joshua must have noticed it, too, for he held out his hand for Neku to hold. Neku accepted the offered hand, and we left to the art room. As we walked, I thought of something.

"So…are you two gonna start going out now?" I asked, smiling slyly at Neku's expression of dismay and Joshua's indignant spluttering.

"Only if you want to, Neku, dear," the silverette managed to reply after they recovered.

"…Sure, Josh," he mumbled almost silently, blushing a bit more as he spoke. I could literally see the happy victory dance in Joshua's head when Neku answered.

"Well, then, in that case…" Joshua quickly pecked Neku on the cheek, making the ginger leap back, blushing furiously.

"What the hell?!" Neku yelped, the blush crawling up his neck as well. I laughed at their antics, knowing this would be fun to watch as it progressed. Neku would be okay now, but I knew he still needed me.

The rest of the day went by smoothly, and when we went to bed that night, I noticed Neku fall asleep with a small smile on his face.

A/N: FINALLY! 3 posts in one day! That's a fucking record for me! Anyway, don't expect anything soonly tomorrow, I need to study for tests then. But I will update tomorrow, or at least I'll try to. I hope you guys liked this! Also, I ended the chapter sooner than normal cuz I wanted this to be done and I couldn't think of anything else to put. R&R, peeps!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Whoop whoop! Another update and this one has a small time skip! Just a little one, but it still counts. This is where you'll learn about Neku's past with the events that took place 3 years ago. Hopefully it's not too much for my faithful readers! Also, I think this'll be the last chapter. It's sad, but I can't think of much else to ~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

The New Kid

Chapter 5

X*X(3 Weeks Later)X*X

Joshua and Neku had been dating for 3 weeks since that incident in the hallway with the girls, and everything had been going well. Nobody bothered Neku anymore because of his dating Joshua, seeing as they didn't want to get hurt from Joshua's wrath. Neku still refused to allow Joshua over to our home, even when Joshua asked or tried to be sneaky. I knew why, though; Neku didn't want to explain why his parents weren't there.

It was one Friday in art class, though, that they had to work on a project for creative writing together, and Joshua's family had business partners coming over for dinner, so they allowed him to spend the weekend with a friend. Joshua already had Neku in mind, so when he told us he needed a place to stay for the weekend and why, I wasn't surprised.

"You really want to stay the weekend with us?" Neku asked doubtfully.

"Of course, dear," Joshua replied simply. "I have no one else who would want to without taking advantage of me."

"Good point," I murmured. Looking at Neku, he sighed, but nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, Nekky," Joshua smirked, and added, "I'll just have to grab a few of my things after school, and then I'll meet you at your house. It's just a straight walk from the corner, right? You can just watch for me. I won't take too long."

"Sure thing, Josh," Neku mumbled, blushing a bit when Joshua gave him a grateful kiss on the cheek.

Once the day was over, Joshua took off running for his house, calling back to us that he'd see us soon. Neku and I walked back home at a slower pace than normal, and the whole way there, we had a telepathic conversation.

_What am I gonna do, Night? He's bound to ask about my parents, and I don't think I'm ready to tell him,_ Neku thought to me.

_Neku, this was bound to happen sooner or later. You need to tell him the whole story. Look, I'll be there the whole time with you if you want,_ I offered.

_Yeah, I want you there with me,_ he agreed. We walked the rest of the way in silence, but then we heard running footsteps behind us.

"Neku! Wait up!" Joshua's voice yelled after us, and we stopped to see him run up to us, panting.

"That didn't take you long," Neku remarked as the three of us continued walking, making it home less than 2 minutes later.

"Well, you were walking pretty slowly," the silverette retorted, smirking. Neku merely chuckled as we entered the house. Josh looked around the place as he entered, and I noticed he spotted the empty coat rack and key rack, as well as the lack of others' shoes by the front door. Thankfully, he chose not to say anything yet. Neku, however, knew he was curious.

"So, I'm guessing you want to know where my parents are, huh?" he asked his boyfriend.

"I'll only ask if you're ready to tell, Neku," Joshua answered honestly. Neku sighed and led Joshua over to the couch, where they sat so Neku could share.

"It's bound to come up sooner or later anyway," the ginger mumbled as I perched onto the arm of the couch next to him. Taking a deep breath, Neku began. "I wasn't always so closed off, ya know. I used to be a happy-go-lucky kind of kid growing up. But then, once I hit 7th grade, things just went downhill from there.

"My parents always tried to protect me from the shit that happened at school. The name-calling and beatings from my regular bullies from the 8th grade got worse, though, no matter what Mom and Dad did. One day, though, they successfully stopped the bullying when it happened in front of my old home. The assholes stopped before they could even deliver a punch, and that apparently _really_ pissed them off.

"I didn't get bullied for a couple of weeks, and it was nice. I was able to walk through the hallways without fearing someone calling me something along the lines of 'emo' or 'freak'. It was on the day before spring break, though, that it happened."

"What happened?" Joshua asked softly, hugging his boyfriend at the sight of the tears in his eyes.

"My regular bullies showed up at my house that night, while my parents and I were all at the table, eating dinner. Dad went to answer the door when it was knocked on, and then he yelled, but a bang followed, as well as a cry of pain. Mom and I ran out to the living room and to the front door to find Dad shot in the arm by one of those bastards.

"They stormed in and tied me down, and chained Night up with iron, which is the only thing that can keep him from doing anything, and then proceeded to torture Mom and Dad to death. They forced them into trying to plead for their lives and mine, but the fuckers just laughed them off. They even gave me some cuts on my back and chest, leaving me with both physical and mental scars from the whole ordeal.

"Finally, it ended when Night grew livid enough to tap into his true power and he broke the chains. He set about beating the shit out of them, but it was too late for my parents. They were already dead from blood loss by the time the ambulances and police arrived. I was emancipated once discharged from the hospital, and I've been living on my own since I was 14." Neku stopped speaking, taking a deep, shuddering breath, before he began to cry on Josh's shoulder.

"Neku…I'm so sorry…" Joshua whispered to him as he comforted his lover. I gave a quiet whimper at the sound of Neku's heart-breaking sobs.

"The fuckers who did it have been in prison serving a life-sentence ever since that night," I told the silverette quietly. Joshua nodded, looking relieved, but continued to try and calm Neku down. Eventually, Neku stopped crying, but pulled away from Joshua and looked down at the floor.

"You probably think I'm fucking crazy for all of this, huh," Neku muttered. Joshua gave him a stern look, putting his hands on his hips.

"Neku, why on earth would I think that?" Joshua said. "I feel awful for everything that's happened to you, and now it all makes sense. I just want to be there for you, if you'll let me."

"…Thank you, Josh," Neku whispered, hugging Joshua again, tears streaming down his face.

"You're welcome, Neku," Joshua murmured back to him, holding him tight. They stayed like that for a while, and then when they broke apart, Neku's whole being seemed lighter, happier.

"How about some dinner, guys?" I offered, glancing at the time. It was now 6:30 in the evening, and I began to feel my stomach growl.

"Sure, Night," Neku chuckled, starting to stand. He stretched, his body giving off little cricks here and there, and then led Josh to the kitchen.

"So, what's on the menu this time, Night?" Joshua giggled as he sat next to Neku at the table.

"Does Italian sound good? I certainly hope so, 'cause I'm fixing chicken Alfredo, whether you want it or not," I said, laughing. Joshua giggled again while Neku chuckled.

"It's fine, Night," Neku assured me, and I grinned as I started to cook.

As I cooked, I listened happily to Neku and Josh talk about random stuff at school. Eventually, my friend asked his boyfriend about why he was so nervous that one day when Neku decided to give him a chance. The reaction was immediate; Joshua blushed bright red.

"Uh…do I have to answer?" the silverette asked nervously, trying to get out of answering.

"It can't be that bad, Josh," Neku said, folding his arms. "Come on, just tell me."

"…I had a wet dream the night before, and then I had to…masturbate to get rid of the hard on, and when I did, I…moaned your name," Joshua mumbled almost inaudibly. Neku's face began to burn a dark red from shock and embarrassment, and he stared at Joshua, wide-eyed.

"Are you serious?!" he yelped.

"Unfortunately," the silverette mumbled, looking ashamed. I couldn't help it; I started laughing, and loudly. The pair at the table stared at me before starting to laugh as well. We laughed about it for a while, and then began to sober up when I passed out the plates of chicken alfredo.

"Damn, Night, this has to be your best yet!" Neku praised as he took a bite.

"I've never had food this good before!" Joshua agreed. I beamed at their praise, and continued to eat.

"Honestly, though, this is my favorite Italian dish to make and eat," I told them with a small chuckle. They nodded in understanding, and we soon finished, Joshua and Neku forcing me out of the kitchen while they washed the dishes.

They emerged from the kitchen about 15 minutes later, seeming happier. I decided then would be a good time for me to offer.

"Hey, I'm gonna sleep down here tonight, guys. Joshua, how about you sleep in Neku's room with him?" I suggested. I noticed them both blush at my offer, but Joshua recovered quickly and replied.

"Sure, Night. I'd love to sleep with Nekky," he giggled, earning him a swat on the arm from the other boy.

"All right, I'll see you two in the morning. Good night, guys," I said, yawning. The pair bid me good night, and then went upstairs as well.

As I fell asleep that night, the last thought that came to me was, _Things are so much better now that Neku has Joshua in his life._

X*X(End Of Junior Year, Late May)X*X

"Finally! School is out for the summer!" Neku cheered as we left the school for the summer break. Joshua took his hand as we walked to the silverette's house. Yes, we were now living with Joshua's family.

Josh had begged his family to take Neku and me into their home when he returned home on Sunday evening, sharing the story with them of what had happened to make Neku parentless. At first, Neku was hurt by the fact that Joshua hadn't asked if he could tell anyone before doing so, but soon forgave him when he found out that Mr. and Mrs. Kiryu had decided to let Neku and me live with them. So now we were living a more comfortable life.

"Yes, and then we'll be a bit freer during our senior year, thanks to having 3 free periods," Joshua reminded him with a giggle.

"Thank god for that," Neku sighed happily.

"Oh, yes, Neku, Mother and Father won't be home this weekend due to a business trip," Joshua added suggestively.

"But…Oh, all right," the ginger agreed somewhat reluctantly. I knew where this was going. Sex for them all weekend until the parents came home. I sighed to myself; this was gonna be a long weekend, but I knew it made Neku happy, and that was all that mattered to me. Neku had been living a much better, happier life since giving Joshua a chance, and I knew that would never change.

A/N: AND IT'S DONE! Sorry this fic is so short, guys, but it was fun while it lasted, wasn't it? I certainly hope so! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I hate ending it so soon, but I couldn't think of what else to write. R&R, peeps!


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